Rave + L’Âge d’or de CCN

The Ballet de Lorraine celebrates 21st-century hybridisations between classical technique and new forms born from clubs. 25 years apart, Karole Armitage draws inspiration from voguing to make Rave a colourful fireworks display, while the duo MazelFreten draws on the raw energy of electro dance to subvert the codes of ballet.

Created in 2001 for the Ballet de Lorraine and now passed on to a new generation of performers, Rave has the air of a virtuoso, festive, and colourful parade.

American choreographer Karole Armitage orchestrates a meeting between voguing – with its swift hand and arm movements – and various forms of martial arts, set to an exhilarating techno soundtrack by composer David Shea.

The electricity of the music drives the bodies of the 25 dancers to an explosive state of tension. They make the heart beat of a piece conceived as a celebration of life and of the 21st-century balls, ballets, and carnivals that enhance its flavour.

At its creation, Karole Armitage was in the midst of an exceptional and singular career.

Trained in classical ballet, she joined Merce Cunningham's company in 1976 but soon created her own pieces, notably Drastic Classicism in 1981, which combined the rigour of ballet with the raw energy of punk.

Since then, the choreographer has continuously fostered dialogue between the worlds of academic dance and popular culture. Brandon Masele and Laura Defretin, under the alias Mazel Freten, have been on almost the reverse journey for the past 10 years.

The duo uses the vocabulary of electro and hip-hop dances to forge a new language acclaimed worldwide, with their piece Rave Lucid but also the "Obscurité" segment of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Beyond their own creations, the two artists are keen on different experiences, as evidenced by their collaboration with singer Hervé at Chaillot in 2025.

Today, Mazel Freten is imagining a large-scale work for the Ballet de Lorraine, to the sound of a piece by electronic music composer Chloé Thévenin.

Drawing inspiration from the sampling technique – which extracts, transforms, and reinvents existing material – the duo subverts the codes of classical ballet to make it resonate differently, empowered by the visceral energy of electro dance. La